Public health must perform autopsies on dengue casualties

Santo Domingo.– PAHO International Consultant on dengue Dr. Eric Martinez Torres suggested the automatic autopsy to all who dies of dengue, so that the serotypes could be identified and make truly scientific diagnoses that would serve as a basis for effective public policies to combat the disease.

During a meeting with reporters from the health sector, Martinez said the mosquito-borne disease is preventable if the population is well educated about it, “because no parent would allow a breed agent that leads to casual risk of disease or death for their children.”

In the absence of a drug, he said that a vaccine or effective antiviral for the prevention of dengue as well as educating the population are powerful tools for prevention. Martinez asked the media to cooperate in sharing the information with the public, so that citizens are the protagonists in eliminating the causes of dengue in the Dominican Republic.

WHO defines an epidemic as the occurrence of a disease in an area clearly beyond normal expectancy. Usually this means there is equal or greater number of cases compared to a pre-determined critical number of occurrences which signal yes, we have an epidemic.